Will Trent filmed another episode in Puerto Rico — and Ramón Rodríguez is already hoping to return a third time with Bad Bunny as a guest star.
“I’d love to get Bad Bunny on the show. That would be fantastic — and that means we’re going to Puerto Rico,” Rodríguez, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly about the Puerto Rican rapper. “So I’d love to go back to Puerto Rico and spend more time there.”
Rodríguez gushed about getting to come back in season 4 for an episode centered around Will’s roots, adding, “It was great while we were there and we brought some of our Atlanta-based crew. We had our camera operator practicing his Spanish and other people were looking at properties like, ‘Oh, I could live here.’ It’s just such a beautiful island and the film crews and industry there is strong.”
The actor pointed out there were plenty of opportunities for Will to return again.
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“I love being there — mostly because of what it means to Will. In season 2, we found out there’s still characters we’ve not met. There were the aunts that he met that said he has family in the mountains. So I’m like, ‘Well, what is that like? What else can he learn about himself and his family?” Rodriguez pointed out. “Just because I know how much that matters to him.”
He continued: “I’ve had this idea and we didn’t get to do it this season but I’ve always had this idea of [Will’s uncle] Antonio and [his dad] Caleb in Puerto Rico? How fun would that be? And [his dog] Betty — let’s bring Betty too. Maybe Betty finds someone another dog on the island. There’s so many dogs in Puerto Rico so maybe she falls in love.”
Based on a book by Karin Slaughter, Will Trent follows a special agent at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was abandoned at birth and grew up in Atlanta’s overwhelmed foster care system. Will now relies on his unique perspective while pursuing justice, resulting in the highest clearance rate in the GBI.
After discovering his mother’s identity at the end of season 1, Will has gotten a chance to acquaint himself with his Uncle Antonio (John Ortiz), who returns in the Tuesday, March 17, episode of the hit ABC series as the main character visited Puerto Rico.
“So much of it is still unchartered for Will and we haven’t fully mined it yet. In season 2 we got a taste — a little tease of that experience. When we were talking about season 4, everyone knew how badly I really wanted to go back and explore more of what’s there story wise,” Rodríguez told Us. “We found a great story and a great way in. But [as the director] I definitely wanted to show the green and lush side of the island. The jungle and the rain forest, which we got to do.”
Rodríguez broke down the challenges that came with production, saying, “But what’s amazing is Puerto Rico crews are so used to it. They were like, ‘We’ll climb up that muddy road and that tree and we’ll lay down track.’ It was phenomenal to watch them do what they do. We shot a little bit in Old San Juan, but I just wanted to be there longer, which we did.”
He continued: “We knew this episode was going to be this adventure with spiders, ravines and stunts and visual effects. It was a really big episode yet it was also quite emotional. It was a fully-loaded episode that was exhausting and crazy.”
The best part, though, was Rodríguez got to remain in Puerto Rico after wrapping.
“I just stayed for the holidays so I really shut down. It was an exhausting and exhilarating shoot. I absolutely loved it. But at the end of it we were all tired because there were long hours and it was a stressful episode,” he shared. “It was our largest episode to date. It was huge. So it was nice to — right after we wrapped — I didn’t have to get on a plane. I just stayed and went to the beach and reconnected with the island and family and friends. Those are the things that tend to be real anchor points for me.”
Will Trent airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET before streaming the next day on Hulu.